Apple launches 'Find My iPhone' app to remotely wipe and find your lost treasure
By Thomas Ricker 
posted June 18th 2010 4:05AM
posted June 18th 2010 4:05AM
[Thanks, Brian M.]
posted June 18th 2010 4:05AM
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as useful as it is. it isn't worth the 100$/yr for mobileme.
Or you could not lose/forget it with this:
http://zomm.com/
My mom just had me locate her iphone day before yesterday, this will come in handy, I won't have to run to a computer
https://www.mylookout.com/
Ive had an app like this for ages. Mylookout does this...saves all of your pictures, backs up the phone automatically, will make the phone scream even if its on vibrate as well as track it if you dont know where it is. Thats Apple for you....make something thats been out for ages and then call it "new".
@Jomah7777 I missed in the article where Apple is calling this feature "new".
@Jomah7777
Too bad it's not available for iPhone.
@Jomah7777 You can also do it with MyPhone from Microsoft...
This is going to be a pretty cool feature when hackers steal the account info need to start tracking people and wiping devices all over the globe. Pretty cool, huh?
@cpd5c45
Even worse, a friend is playing with your phone and opens the app and doesn't know what they are doing and wipes your mom's phone. No dessert tonight!
So you all think that if i stumble upon an iPhone on the subway that i'm not gonna just wipe and reset the damm thing but instead wait for it to be beeping like a time bomb in my trousers while i happen to be crossing Wall St and the armed police and MoPo around everywhere in that area swarm me and tackle me down while the police K9 German Shepard who only answers to German **Holen Sie ihn nieder, meine Dame** is wrestling me to the ground only for them to realize that it's only an iPhone that is beeping in me trousers and the message on the screen is saying **this is a lost/stolen iPhone, please return to Mizz Kitteh, post-haste**.....
I don't want to take that risk. Uh uh, no. What's really to stop anyone finding an iPhone, turning it off, removing the SIM, and doing a factory reset and wiping all data thereby removing all details including all credentials as well. Fresh iPhone for free..
@merovingian Yes, it won't stop a savvy thief. Only an honest or stupid one. Like those people who steal laptops and the security software on the laptop takes pictures of them using it and screenshots of their name and address as they fill out an order in the web browser :) But there is at least a chance your phone will be found by someone honest or stupid, in which case this gives a much greater chance you'll get it back than nothing.
@merovingian True, these features aren't guaranteed to protect you or return your lost device.
As mentioned a savvy thief will know ways and means to counter these things, but let’s face it, 99% of thieves aren't that bright. When they're presented with something they cannot immediately sell on by themselves, they have to consult someone with more knowledge and that takes time, giving you more time to take action and slow/prevent their profiting your loss.
how would this work on an ipod touch? there's no gps or cellular data...
@Pwnage It would use WiFi. It can locate itself using SkyHook Wireless, a database of WiFi base stations, it would then look for an open/unsecured network and transmit to Apple.
If it requires a MobileMe account, then it's not "free". It's "included with MobileMe service" or available for "no additional charge", but the word "free" doesn't seem appropriate. Apple would be smart to make this feature free, but that's not what they've done today.
@rbrome Why? The "app" is free. Its the subscription service thats required to use it that you pay for.
Apple are not the only ones doing this, look at newspapers and magazines, free aps, but only useful if you have a paid subscription to log into. Same goes for high-end product makers, their remote control apps may be free, but they require that $5,000 home automation system or $50,000 Mercedes to be useful.
@MikeWard1701 Microsoft offers this technology free for Winmo users... having to pay for it = fail
The app is free, but using it still requires a mobileme membership fee!!!!!
It says so RIGHT in the description of the app.
Misinformed article is misinformed.
How is this supposed to work for an ipod touch? No GSM, no GPS only WiFi. Good luck locating it this way...
@Bahumbug Yes, the number of circumstances that need to be in your favour to locate a WiFi only device are pretty high, but it is possible.
Let's just hope someone is not trying to make a 911 call when some punk in BFE resets the phone.
Microsoft already has this... iPhone copies the multitask solution and saftey solution from Microsoft... nice
Emily sure is an Apple Fanboy :)
MobileMe is a rip off, why can't apple see that this service is an amazing value add proposition for it's customers at a low cost to them and just package it for free?
Cummon jobsy let's get real.
If any google developers are reading this, please add this functionality to the already excellent mail, address book, etc. tools that make the iPhone lame without connectivity to igoogle.
Wait, are you sure this is this free?
The life hacker article says $ 99.
Anyone know for sure?
@cecemf Now all they need is "Teleport my iPhone"
Could this be a sign that Mobile Me will be free in future?.. probably not.
Happy Independence Day!
I must admit that Apple's "Find My iPhone" is a pretty awesome app to help you keep track of your shiny new 4G iPhone. It has some great features that are double dipped in Apple’s sweet secret sauce of proprietary code that is not publicly available in their SDK. (with some good reason)
If you want the ability to wipe a phone from a distance you gotta pony up to Apple’s $99 annual fee for Mobile Me
...and depending on what pics you take with your camera, that money might be worth it. ;)
However, if all you want is the ability to find your phone, I suggest checking out the PleaseFind.it service
We've built an app called "PleaseFind.it" that only costs $4.95 and gives you a lot of the same functionality. If you ever lose or misplace your iPhone all you need to do is log into PleaseFind.it (thats the URL) and the service will show you where it was last spotted.
It doesn’t have all the proprietary bells and whistles of "Find My iPhone" … but it elegantly handles the 'dude, where's my iPhone' usecase without eating up all your battery life. (we're a little bit clever about this)
…perhaps it's as good a day as any to declare your independence from MobileMe’s $99 annual fee to find your iphone
j'sayin,
Thomas Jefferson, John Hancock
(and the folks at PleaseFind.it)
July 4, 2010
Full Disclosure: The $4.95 price is part of a 50% "yay we just launched promotion" + "Happy Independence from Mobile Me sale" that goes on for another week, after which time it will go back up to its regular price of $9.95.
So let me get this right, apple can remote kill the iPhone. Nice!
So if apple can do so can anyone once you figure out how.. hehe Only a matter of them before someone starts killing random iPhones. haha